Re: Martial Arts in the Playground

Considering the black belt means you've mastered the basics (and how a lot of martial arts don't even work with a belt system, I've only heard about it in relation to judo, karate and some modern Korean martial arts), I'd say I'd prefer to go on until the second dan at least, to show I've got a tiny bit of mastery beyond the basics, but it all depends on the art itself.

I tried calling one of the dojos today in a nearby town, but it turns out they don't have office hours on thursdays. I'll call again tomorrow, see what they can tell me about the courses they offer (judo, tai chi, aikido and jiu-jitsu).

I also found out there's a Krav Maga center in my town. Quite a surprise! Their site tells me they offer a free two-hour introduction course, so that should give me a fair insight. Even if I don't take it up regularly, they also have a crash course in it for twice a week, three weeks in a row, one and a half hours each. Couldn't find anything on the price, but I'll ask once I talk to someone there.

Next week it's a holiday week for most schools and thus also a lot of sport schools as well. After that I'll be checking out all of them, if possible, find out what suits me. This will include:
- Aikido
- Boxing
- Jiu-Jitsu
- Judo
- Karate
- Krav Maga
- Tae Kwon Do
- Tai Chi (not really what I'm looking for, but I've never seen it in person, so might as well drop by since it's in the same dojo)